KOCHI: Hardly a fortnight after a 19-year-old from West Bengal lost his life while working on an electric pole, electrocution claimed another life in the district on Friday.

Eldhose Kuriakose, 40, a lineman of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), hailing from Karukidam in Kothamangalam, died in the line of duty while fixing fault in a power line in front of the Muvattupuzha municipal office around 11 a.m.

Eldhose, a permanent staff with the KSEB, is learnt to have engaged in the work after switching off the power, the police said. A fault at the sub-station is suspected to have cost him his life.

Meanwhile, the KSEB has launched a probe into how the tragedy occurred despite the power being switched off. The victim might have come into contact with supply from a nearby cable or generator, KSEB sources said.

Following the death of Sameedur Rehman, a contract labourer from West Bengal while working on an electric pole near Panangad, KSEB had decided to strictly enforce the safety norms for contract and permanent staff working on overhead power lines.

A preliminary investigation by the KSEB had found that contractors were deploying labourers who were not even aware of the risks involved while working on power lines.

Records with the KSEB showed that the State witnessed about 1,058 electrical accidents in 2015 and 2016 together, out of which about 531 were fatal.